Posts Tagged ‘Horses’

According to a press released issued by the New York State Department of Conservation (DEC), on September 10th at 12:09 pm, Warren County 911 transferred a call to DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch from a man reporting his horse was stuck on a trail in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area.

The horse, named Chance, had slipped on a small bridge, fell, and became trapped underneath. Forest Rangers Arthur Perryman, Benjamin Baldwin, and Charles Kabrehl responded to assist in freeing the horse. The Rangers said the bridge was temporarily dismantled to allow the horse to leverage itself back on its feet. » Continue Reading.

The new Frontier Town state campground was opened to great fanfare just before the July 4th holiday this year. The campground is now fully developed with campsites, trails, and amenities such as showers, playgrounds, horse stalls, pavilions, and scenic lookouts on the banks of the Schroon River, among other features. Construction of the new Paradox Brewery is well underway.

The Frontier Town Campground is designed to pay homage to the western themes of the old Frontier Town wild west amusement park that was in its heyday in the decades after the Second World War. The amusement park had become dilapidated over the years and the new campground was a State intervention to help restore the site to some form of commercial use. The main gate has a western design and many of the shower and bathroom buildings have western saloon facades. » Continue Reading.

Because of their intended function, horse blocks were accessible to anyone and there was no reason to guard them — except for one night of the year. Pranksters annually targeted them in several ways on Halloween: flipping them if they were too heavy to carry off, piling several on the property of an unsuspecting owner, or placing them in unusual locations, like in the middle of road intersections.

A drastic change in transportation technology — the automobile — marked the beginning of the end for horse travel and several related items that were present just about everywhere: horse blocks, hitching posts, and watering troughs. Progress required the removal of many horse blocks, which had become obstructions to pedestrians and were frequently struck by cars, sometimes causing fatalities. (Driving skills were seriously lacking early on, and there were few regulations, so accidents were common.) » Continue Reading.

The most popular genre by far on nighttime television through the 1960s? Westerns. While children were allowed to watch some of them, several shows specifically geared towards the younger set were shown on Saturday morning. Watching heroes — Roy Rogers, the Lone Ranger, and Zorro, three of the best — escape tense situations and catch bad guys was unforgettable.

Among the skills of any cowboy star (or stuntman stand-in) worth his salt were the hurried mounting and high-speed dismounting of horses (usually their own faithful steed, of course). It’s an impressive feat when you consider that horses are pretty high off the ground — which brings us to our main subject: how to get down off a horse. » Continue Reading.

Fort Ticonderoga’s wintertime Fort Fever Series returns in 2019 and features programs led by Fort Ticonderoga museum staff who will share their latest research and discoveries.

The first program, presented on January 13, 2019, is “Half-Spanish, Part-Hungarian, & All-American: Cavalry Treatises, Saddles & Objects in Fort Ticonderoga’s Collection.” Join Vice President of Public History Stuart Lilie to explore the horse artifacts in Fort Ticonderoga’s collections and the unique stories of American saddlery that they tell. The Collections of Fort Ticonderoga include saddles, documents and other pieces which record the ongoing evolution of American military saddlery beyond the long 18th century. » Continue Reading.

DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos and Office of General Services Commissioner RoAnn Destito joined local elected officials and other partners at a ribbon cutting event last week in North Hudson. They were there to unveil the first phase of the former Frontier Town theme park site development on the Schroon River at the corner of Route 9 and Blue Ridge Road, nearly adjacent to I-87 Northway Exit 29.

The completed project is expected to feature a 91-acre universally accessible state campground, an equestrian campground, along with two day-use areas (Riverside and Trail Side). The project’s official name is Frontier Town Campground, Equestrian and Day Use Area. The two day use areas are now open; the new campground is expected to open for the season in the spring. » Continue Reading.

Coinciding with the Saratoga Race Course’s 2018 meet, The Hyde Collection will present a new exhibition, Horse and Rider, in its Rotunda Gallery from July 20 through September 9.

Americans have long romanticized their relationship with horses: the majesty of wild mustangs galloping through the plains, the allure of cowboys on horseback driving a herd, the utility of farmers tending their fields with horse-drawn plough, and the grace of racehorses. » Continue Reading.

The Adirondack Park Agency has announced that it has deemed DEC’s application complete for the Frontier Town Campground, Equestrian and Day Use Area along the Schroon River in North Hudson. State and local officials have been touting the proposed facility as a “Gateway to the Adirondacks.”

The plan proposes an accessible public campground at the site of the former Frontier Town theme park. The campground would include RV, tent, and equestrian camp sites and facilities, and trails connecting to the snowmobile trails leading to Schroon Lake and Ticonderoga, and a new trail to Newcomb being proposed in the yet unapproved Boreas Ponds Tract Management Plan. The campground is part of the Upper Hudson Recreation Hub Master Plan.

North River’s Garnet Hill Lodge is known for its full-service ski shop, Adirondack accommodations, and as a wedding venue overlooking Thirteenth Lake. Now Garnet Hill is adding Adirondack Carriage’s scenic horse-and-wagon rides for those seeking a late fall ride through the woods. Though some leaves are still hanging on the trees in North River, the mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees provides a peaceful horse-drawn outing. » Continue Reading.

Horace Brown, perhaps the greatest horse trainer from the northern Adirondacks and foothills, attained fame and many trotting victories in America, Europe, and Russia. Of all his successes, none was more acclaimed than the marvelous season of 1882. Collectively, it was among the unlikeliest stories in sports, an early equivalent of the US hockey team’s stunning Olympic victory in 1980, when a group of fresh, largely untested amateurs came together and conquered the world’s best.

The 1882 story became legend and was often repeated, but the first couple of names involved aren’t absolutely certain. Bear with me briefly through the details, for the story will get better. By most accounts, the horse in question was bred by Jeff Brown of Dresden, on the western shore of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York. In the vicinity of Dresden, he sold it to Richard Brown (and now the names are certain,) who sold it to Lawrence Bogert, who sold it to Stewart L. Purdy of the town of Benton. » Continue Reading.

In 1894 Horace Brown relocated to Vienna and won his first race there. Riding fast mounts that he trained in a city stable, he continued claiming victories in important contests, and also won ten races in Germany. The following year was no different, as he captured many high-stakes races in Austria, France, and Germany. Of his ability to train horses and make them great, a writer for Spirit of the Times commented, “Horace Brown can get the speed out of a trotter as well as any, and better than many.”

By the end of September 1895, after heading the season’s winners list at Baden, Germany, and capturing big races at Vincennes and Neuilly in the suburbs of Paris, his contract with French owners expired. He was soon off to Russia, where he completed another very successful campaign.

In early 1896 he began training for Serge de Beauvais, another famous French horseman. After winning many races in the Paris area, Horace set up shop in Vienna, which became his adopted home. By year’s end, partly because of his winning efforts and stellar reputation as a trainer, the city became known in the media as the “foremost trotting center in Europe.” » Continue Reading.

Due to his obvious talent and strong work ethic, Horace was beset with offers from many prominent owners. Before year’s end, he became the trainer and driver for Highland Stock Farm in Lee, Massachusetts, a prolific operation that raced successfully across New England. Wallace’s Monthly, a magazine that covered horse racing, freely praised the hiring in a piece reprinted from Horse and Stable magazine. “It is a fact that the trainer of a farm is secondary in importance only to its stallions and brood-mares…. Horace Brown deserves the credit of whatever renown has been brought to Hamlin Farm…. I found that good horses improved faster under his care than that of any man of whom I had knowledge…. Horace reduced the record of Belle Hamlin to 2:18¼ and won more money with her in a single season than the Village Farm had won in its existence up to that time…. The greatest feat of Horace’s life was, in my belief, the defeat at Cleveland, on July 28 and 29, 1886, of Manzanita, Spofford, Kitefoot, Longfellow Whip, Orange Boy, and Lowland Girl, in a five-heat race that occupied two days. » Continue Reading.